Hero Strategy: Savage
ATTENTION! This Page Is UNDER CONSTRUCTION " ---- Bio Sentinel from Verdanth. ]] The last unique Sentinel to be unlocked in the game, Savage, the Lord of Beasts relies heavily on his physical prowess and tanking capabilities. He also has a wide range of tactics involving his Pet, called "Savage Ally", which his abilities are largely based around. In addition, he is the only hero who can resurrect himself without the aid of Resurrection Capsules. So one would do well to have him in a squad. : General Information Savage is a surprisingly diverse hero, despite being deceptively simple to use. Though he is fully capable of holding his own in solo-play, he can also play at least a minor supportive role during co-op. In co-op, Savage can function as the main cannon fodder, and is a born distractor. As he draws the enemies' attacks away from his allies, supportive characters can help keep him alive while limiting their exposure to enemy fire. However, when Savage and his pet exploit their full potential, the duo becomes an engine of destruction, tearing apart anything that comes their way. Savage and his pet also are exceptionally good against Shifted enemies, since none of his abilities deal AoE damage. They're also very effective against Reflective enemies, since none of his abilities deal Energy damage (aside from his Delta variant's Virulent Vines). Of course, no hero is perfect. As such, Savage is utterly horrible against Ghostly and Spiky enemies. Unstoppable Darkspore will also be a pain, since they'll be immune to the Taunt inflicted by Savage Ally via Bestial Mastery, or the Taunt from his Alpha variant's Roar of Derision. Surefooted Elites/Captains will be a small problem, since they'll be immune to the knock-up from Wild Charge. : Base Stats & Unlock Levels NOTE:' The following stats include Savage's non-modified primary stats: Green represents the highest stats; Red represents the lowest. : Abilities ''NOTE: Due to varying stats between variants, some of their abilities are slightly different. Any of these differences are displayed going in order of variant, being separated by a Forward Slash (/).'' - Basic Attack: '''''Brutal Assault Range: 4 meters Cooldown: 0.6 seconds Cast Type: Instant : "Savage smashes a target for '''8-14' physical damage."'' Brutal Assault is a straight-forward melee attack, dealing impressive damage to single targets, thus ensuring quick kills in a matter of seconds. But it also has double the range of most melee attacks, which is usually about 2 meters, meaning he can potentially kill a melee minion before it's had a chance to deal damage. As a general distraction, the ability can be used to lure enemies into a trap for Wild Charge, or if you're using Savage Delta, Virulent Vines. : - Unique Ability: Wild Charge Range: 50 meters Cooldown: 10 seconds Cast Type: Instant Power Cost: 20 : "Charges at the target point, knocking enemies up in the air and dealing '''31-48 / 32-51 / 32-49 / ??' physical damage to each one. If you have beast pet, it will join your charge."'' An excellent ability if used correctly, Wild Charge not only is a quick way to shortly disable clusters of enemies (and potentially one-hit Minions), but also a quick way to distract enemy forces from your team-mates. It can also be used to cover a vast distance, either to just escape, or to strike a high-priority target, such as a powerful Elite, Captain or Destructor. If Savage has his pet summoned, it will charge with him regardless of it current position. This can be used to affect even more enemies if Savage Ally is coming from another angle. However, despite the fact that it can affect multiple targets, it does not'' count as an AoE, meaning it will not be affected by ''+AoE Damage'' or'' +AoE Radius''. This also means that it's the only ability that can hit unlimited targets (as opposed to Lumin's Chain Lightning and Goliath's Arc Weld) and deal decent damage to Shifted enemies. This is extremely useful against hordes of Shifted enemies. Here's a few squad strategies that can be used with Wild Charge: : Just before charging, activate an ability like Blitz' Plasma Wreath, so when you charge you'll deal additional damage along the way. : Of course, using Skar's Shadow Cloak will cause the charge to Crit, but may also cause the charge of his Savage Ally to Crit as well. : Also before charging, use Maldri's Probability Assault to inflict random Quantum debuffs on the enemies affected. Such as Slowed, Stopped, or Banished. : After charging, try using Char's Fiery Eruption to finish-off enemies, or to prevent Regenerative enemies from getting back to full health. : - Squad Ability: ''Savage Ally'' Range: 50 Meters Cooldown: 12 seconds Cast Type: Instant Power Cost: 31 : ''"Spawns a powerful pet that deals '''7-12 / 7-13 / 7-13 / ?? physical damage each attack. While it is alive, this ability only costs 14 power and will enrage the pet, increasing it's damage by 50% and healing 40% of its health over 8''' seconds. The pet's stats are based on Savage's stats (with a bonus to Dodge Rating)."'' Savage Ally is an interesting ability, and one of the most powerful pets in the game. So much so that Savage is almost completely based around it. It can help distract enemies away from you or your other allies, and it will join in a many of your attacks as well. But relying heavily on any pet is risky business. Though Savage Ally's stats are based on the user's, they're not much higher than the average Lieutenant. If Savage Ally dies during combat, Savage loses much of his effectiveness. In addition, Savage Ally sometimes will chase off-screen enemies without Savage, only to bring back a swarm of them. But this can be used to the player's advantage. Using Wild Charge ''can quickly annihilate the enemies it brings back, especially after enraging the pet. During a Destructor's appearance animations, pets usually continue to attack, giving the player(s) a slight head-start. So just before entering an X-4 boss-pit, it may be wise to Enrage Savage Ally, so that the "free" damage it deals will be even higher. During co-op, Vex pairs well with Savage; Vex also deals physical damage, so the physical vulnerability from Savage's pet (via ''Bestial Mastery) would be of help to him too. Vex is also a little more diverse damage-wise, being capable of re-dealing Physical damage as Energy damage with his Time Lapse ability, as well as deal AoE Energy damage with his Chrono Blink ability. Savage and his pet would also benefit from Vex's Haste Field passive, which would make their relatively slow attacks faster. They would also find benefit from the slow imbued by Vex's Temporal Strike basic attack, or his Alpha variant's Time Bubble. : Modifiers The modifiers for Savage's Savage Ally are featured below, along with a few comments on them. * '''Savage's Savage Ally: Extra health, but less damage. (Oklob's affix) This modifier will help increase Savage Ally's survivability, but because it will deal less damage, it becomes less effective in that regard. To compensate, one may want to keep the pet Enraged as much as possible. This will be easier with Savage Beta's variant ability, Enrage. Items with the Oklob's affix also occur with +Pet Health. * Savage's Savage Ally: Attacks hit an additional target. (Prinnia's affix) This modifier will cause Savage Ally's attacks to hit another nearby target, but only at 50% its usual damage. If Savage's Bestial Mastery passive is active, then the "extra" target will receive a Physical Vulnerability as well. Items with the Prinnia's affix also occur with +Pet Damage. : - Passive Ability: Bestial Mastery : "Savage's pet's attacks inflict '''5%' physical vulnerability up to a maximum of 25%. When enraged, it will immediately taunt all nearby enemies for 4''' seconds. Once per mission, it will resurrect you to '''25% health."'' :Overdrive :: "The pet gets an extra resurrection during the overdrive period, and resurrects you to '''50%' health. The pet's physical vulnerability now stacks up to 50%."'' Bestial Mastery is quite unique to Savage, and is one of the best reasons Savage is worth playing, despite its effects being fairly short-term. The physical vulnerability it causes Savage Ally to inflict is helpful, not just to the pet, but to any ability that deals physical damage. And it is at absolutely no cost to Savage. Since the pet doesn't attack that quickly though, the vulnerability doesn't build-up that quickly either. It is very helpful against enemies with higher health, because Savage Ally will have time to inflict the full physical vulnerability, much to the benefit of other players. It will also cause Savage Ally to Taunt nearby enemies when it's Enraged, which can be achieved either by using the ability again, Savage Beta's Enrage. The Enrage can also be gained if another player steals the buff with Meditron's Syndrome Shift, or if Savage uses Arakna's Essence Volley (with a certain modifier). But perhaps the greatest effect of Bestial Mastery can be a life-saver, literally. If Savage happens to perish during combat while his pet was alive, he will automatically be resurrected back to 1/4 of his maximum health. However, this can only occur once per level, or again during overdrive. So once you are revived, there is no way of this happening again. Also, Savage isn't resurrecting himself, it's actually his pet that revives him. So for the resurrection to work, Savage Ally not only has to be alive, but also must not be distracted. : Variants - Alpha: Roar of Derision ---- Range: 30 meters Cooldown: 12 seconds Cast Type: Instant Power Cost: 17 : "Savage charges to the targeted point and roars, taunting all enemies within '''8m' ''for 5'' seconds and taking ''25% ''less damage from all sources during that time."'' This ability is great for any Sentinel. It's pretty much what they're made for; taking all the damage and protecting their allies. Savage can be really great for this ability, since when he attracts all the enemies, his pet will attack them from behind. This move can also be combined with an AoE, such as Zrin's Plasma Column, which will not just damage enemies as he charges, but also when they come-in to attack after they've been Taunted. This strategy will vary depending on the AoE being used. Like Wild Charge, it can be used as a means for escape. But if the two are used together, he can cover up-to 80 meters in less than a few seconds, so long as no environmental obstacles are in his way. : - Beta: Enrage ---- Range: 35 meters Cooldown: 10 seconds Cast Type: Instant Power Cost: 16 : "Sends the targeted ally into a rage, increasing the damage of non-periodic attacks by '''9' for 30 seconds and regenerating 36 health over that period."'' Enrage is an especially fitting ability for Savage. Not only does it give a decent boost to non-periodic damage (which none of his or his pet's attacks deal), but it will also heal the target over time, giving Savage an even more of a supportive role. Of course it can be used on Savage's pet, but since re-activating the Savage Ally ability enrages that pet, using Enrage in tandem will give Savage Ally an even higher damage boost, and help it heal even faster. Because it helps increase the pet's survivability, it will thus increase it's usefulness to Savage as well. Aside from Savage Ally, Enrage can be used on his allies' pets as well, including Char's Elemental Guardian, Sage's Dendrones, Zrin's Pain Hounds, Seraph's Auto Turret, even the "Forest Beast" from DB's Palace. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the +Helpful Status Duration stat won't just increase the time that the enrage is active. Because it heals gradually over Enrage's duration, lengthening it will also reduce how quickly it heals. So when deciding to use this particular stat, you must choose between either a longer damage bonus, or a faster healing time. However, there are better healing abilities than Enrage, like Arakna's Essence Volley or Meditron's Reconstruct, and the damage boost can be pretty helpful, especially when using Wild Charge. : - Gamma: Healing Sprite ---- Range: 50 meters Cooldown: 30 seconds Cast Type: Instant Power Cost: 27 : "Summons a flying creature which periodically heals Savage or allies for '''10-21 ' health. The creature will vanish after 30 'seconds." Healing Sprite is a strictly healing ability, more suited for a Tempest than a Sentinel, especially since Sentinels have large amounts of health. However it can be pretty effective in Co-op as a support for other players, because despite the fact it heals only in small amounts, it does so to multiple allies simultaneously. It's also good to use when Savage's pet nearly runs out of health and when Savage is low on health as well. Adding ''+Pet Health'' can really help the sprite, since it has fairly low health and tends to die very easily. ''+Cooldown Reduction'' and ''+Helpful Status Duration''' will also increase how frequently it can be used.'' : - Delta: Virulent Vines ---- Range: ?? Cooldown:?? Cast Type: Instant Power Cost:?? : "Roots the target in place for '''8' seconds and applies an infectious disease that deals XX energy damage over that period. The disease will spread to nearby enemies, dealing XX energy damage to each one."'' This variant ability is really effective for Savage. The ability to deal energy damage to large amounts of enemies is extremely useful on this melee physical hero, and he won't worry about Ghostly or Spiky enemies as much as his other variants. The root can also be helpful, as Savage can just sit back and watch his Savage Ally tear the rooted enemy to pieces, occasionally enraging the pet for it to do more damage. One possible strategy: After after getting an enemy group's attention (perhaps by using Wild Charge), Savage can then just root an enemy in place, and the disease will spread quickly as enemies attempt to chase after him. This is risky though, because if the disease doesn't kill at least most of them, then Savage will be faced with a large group of enemies all at one time. Adding +Periodic Damage and/or +Energy Damage can improve the effectiveness of Virulent Vines, but because his other abilities all deal non-periodic physical damage, one should be cautious when equipping this hero. : Most Recommended Stats : See Character Abilities & Stats For More Information For the most part, one should equip Savage like any other Sentinel, focusing primarily on Strength and Health. Power is also very important, as Savage has quite a big ability usage. Aside from the usual stats, other stats that are good for Savage may be Damage Reduction, Cooldown Reduction, Range Increase, Threat Increase. Also, anything that would increase his pet's stats, due to the fact that Savage is relatively dependent on his Savage Ally. : Relevant Stats Desired stats vary on play-style, so here's a list of relevant stats, which means any stat that would affect Savage's abilities. Next to the stat is a description of what ability it affects. Not all of these stats are necessary, though, but they are things you might want to keep an eye out for. : '-xx% Damage for Bio Attacks' Affects: All of Savage's abilities that deal damage. : '-xx% Damage from Genesis Attacks' Affects: Damage received from a certain genesis type. (Reduces the amount of damaged received from the listed genesis by a percentage.) : +xx% Cooldown Reduction Affects: All of Savage's abilities that have Cooldowns. : +xx% Attack Speed Affects: All of Savage's abilities and how fast they're used. (Cap is 150%, equaling 2.5x normal attacks speed.) : +xx% Movement Speed Affects: How fast Savage and his Pet(s) can move around. : +xx Healing (and/or) +xx% Healing Affects: Savage Ally? (pet's enrage-heal); Savage Beta's Enrage (enrage-heal); Savage Gamma's Healing Sprite (pet's heal). : +xx% Area Effect Damage Affects: Savage Delta's Virulent Vines? (disease damage). : +xx% Area Effect Radius Affects: Savage Alpha's Roar of Derision (taunt radius); Savage Delta's Virulent Vines? (disease spread radius). : +xx% Area Effect Duration. 'Affects: Savage Alpha's ''Roar of Derision? (taunt); Savage Delta's Virulent Vines? (disease). : '''+xx% Increased Range Affects: The maximum range of Savage's (and his pet's) abilities. : +xx% Health Leech Affects: Savage's Health reserves. (restores an amount of Savage's health when he deals damage, based on a percentage of damage dealt.) : +xx% Power Leech Affects: Savage's Power reserves. (restores an amount of Savage's power when he deals damage, based on a percentage damage dealt.) : +xx Weapon Max Damage (and/or) +xx% Weapon Max Damage Affects: Brutal Assault basic attack (maximum damage). : +xx Weapon Min Damage (and/or) +xx% Weapon Min Damage Affects: Brutal Assault basic attack (minimum damage). : +xx Physical Damage (and/or) +xx% Physical Damage Affects: Brutal Assault basic attack (damage); Wild Charge unique ability (damage); Savage Ally squad ability? (pet's damage). : +xx Energy Damage (and/or) +xx% Energy Damage Affects: Savage Delta's Virulent Vines (disease damage). : +xx% Periodic Damage Affects: Savage Delta's Virulent Vines (disease damage). : +xx% Pet Damage Affects: Savage Ally squad ability (pet's damage) : +xx% Pet Health Affects: Savage Ally squad ability (pet's maximum health); Savage Gamma's Healing Sprite (pet's maximum health). : +xx% Duration of Harmful Statuses Inflicted Affects: Wild Charge unique ability (knock-up); Savage Ally squad ability (taunt & physical vulnerability via Savage's Bestial Mastery passive); Savage Alpha's Roar of Derision (taunt); Savage Delta's Virulent Vines (disease & root). : +xx% Duration of Helpful Statuses Applied Affects: Savage Ally squad ability (pet's enrage); Savage Alpha's Roar of Derision (damage reduction); Savage Beta's Enrage (enrage); Savage Delta's Healing Sprite? (pet duration). : Immune to being debuff by Darkspore Affects: Certain debuffs received. (Grants full immunity to receiving a certain debuff.) : +xx% Threat Decrease Affects: Savage's threat to Darkspore. (Optional but helpful, depending on play-style.) : +xx% Threat Increase Affects: Savage's threat to Darkspore. (Optional but helpful, depending on play-style.) : Savage's Squad Ability Modifiers (see Modifiers) : Any sorts of Boons from certain Loot (Optional, but helpful.) : Was this Helpful? How Helpful Was This? On a scale of 0 to 10. (0 being Worst and 10 being Best) 10 (ten) 9 (nine) 8 (eight) 7 (seven) 6 (six) 5 (five) 4 (four) 3 (three) 2 (two) 1 (one) 0 (zero) Category:Hero Strategy Category:Bio Category:Sentinels Category:Heroes Category:Darkspore Gameplay Category:Darkspore